Hollywood and China as Adversaries and Allies

long-term restructuring of China's film industry shows that Hollywood is greeted not with simple hostility, but rather with ambivalence, as befits a voracious rival that has much to offer. Repelled as many are by Hollywood's persistent and aggressive entry into the Chinese film market, there are also good reasons why world leaders in both politics and film want to make deals with the pushy Americans. This study uses a political economy approach to examine the relationship between Hollywood and Chinese cinema.' Most analyses of Chinese film follow the tradition of cultural criticism, where films are read as texts for insight about Chinese culture.2 This artist-centred approach is an important source of understanding of change in Chinese society, and of the position of cultural creators within it. Although we believe this perspective is appropriately central to studies of Chinese film, it does not address certain questions well. These include the Hollywood challenge, which comes amidst important structural changes in the production, distribution and exhibition of Chinese film.